Day No. 151 - Of bumblebees and dung beetles

Moin Together,

Some of you may have noticed that "Marc" has been keeping a bit of a low profile in our blog over the last few days. - Sure, he hasn't done anything again? - It wasn't quite like that, I'm responsible for the last two videos, for example. - But a completely different topic has been close to my heart over the last few days.

Of course, this also has to do with the blog, but more with the people who read it or not. We have invested a lot of time and commitment in this project. - This with the intuition to share our story with people and share our happiness 🍀. - Of course, it wouldn't be a bad thing if more people read it.

What started as a project "for me" is increasingly becoming a project "for you". - This raises the question: who reads this? And as a seller, what is the advantage, the benefit for our readers? And above all, how do people find us?

But you quickly come up against hurdles. For example, our photos have file names like IMG 4711, which means they can only be googled under real cologne. But certainly not under France 🇫🇷, Portugal 🇵🇹 , Spain 🇪🇸 or Gibraltar 🇬🇮.

And the first and last time we thought about the start page was at the start. This was more than 150 days ago. - The fact that links no longer work, photos no longer fit... - who thought about that? As you can see, there was and still is a lot to do. We are tackling it!

And something else has happened. Torgit is getting more and more involved in the blog. So this is becoming our project. I am very happy about this, because that was my hope from the beginning. - In the future, we will certainly be able to provide a few facts and figures as well as emotion.

Speaking of emotion, speaking of happiness: I'm sure you all know the truism that "there are two sides to every coin". - But do you also know the story of the bumblebee and the dung beetle? 

Sure, everyone knows that they are both insects first and foremost. - But what is the main difference between them? I would say it's the focus, the view of the medal, or rather of the earth, their habitat. - The bumblebee rises proudly above the earth into the sky. Its entire view is focused on the expanse, on flowers and nectar. - Meanwhile, the dung beetle crawls across the damp ground. It struggles, its gaze directed downwards, focused on dung. That sucks, doesn't it? Sure, both are making something, the bumblebee 🐝 honey 🍯 and the dung beetle is grabbing shit, er dung. If you put a bumblebee out on a toxic waste dump, it will either find the one flower that is blooming somewhere there or set off as quickly as possible to find a flower meadow. If you put the dung beetle on a meadow with lush grass and full of flowers, it will find the heap left behind by some sheep, however small it may be.

Why am I telling you this? - Quite simply, I keep noticing that there are bumblebees and dung beetles among humans. - Can you think of any examples? - But one thing makes us humans different. While these two insects are genetically focused on nectar or shit, we humans have a free choice. We have free will, at least in theory. We can therefore change our point of view, or at least adopt a different perspective. - The realist will now remark again that, statistically speaking, a pessimist is just as often right as an optimist. True, but it is also a fact that optimists lead the happiest lives. And who doesn't want to be happy? - I can't exactly call myself an optimist by nature, but I'm trying to become more and more of one every day. And can I tell you something, I'm getting happier by the day. - 

A small example of this: The last time we went shopping, Torgit forgot my milk. So if there was a question of guilt to be clarified, it would be easy to find 😉. - You have to know that I love my freshly frothed cappuccino and Torgit drinks oat milk. - Totally eco, right? Should I now focus on the fact that I'm not getting a cappuccino or on the fact that I get to drink the last cup of our delicious Van Dyck Café? All with a view of green mountains and valleys, sheep and olive groves. Better number two then, right? Sometimes it's the view that makes you happy.

"Love it, Change it or Leave it" - Of course, not everyone can just quit their job to go traveling like we can. Not everyone can decide whether they want to do a job that fulfills them. Not everyone has a direct influence on whether they earn a lot of money or have a handsome pension. Not everyone can influence whether they are young or old, whether they are "trapped" in a healthy or ailing body. Not everyone can please their neighbors or anyone else. - Or as Torgit always says, even if you could walk on water, there would be someone who would ask you why you can't swim. - But everyone, really everyone, has the choice to choose their perspective. Maybe that will give you the freedom to free yourself from one or the other. - If not, maybe it just looks better.

Finally, I would like to take up the cudgels for our two insects. I think it's pretty cool, especially impressive, how such a well-formed bumblebee rises into the fans. Respect. Despite the bumblebee paradox, it flies, and how it flies. - My big sister has always loved bumblebees in particular - "When I grow up, I want a coat made of bumblebee fur".

And what about our dung beetle? The Geotrupidae also have a completely different side. - Not ants, but dung beetles are considered the strongest of all animals. They can pull a thousand times their body weight. This strength is a result of their exhausting mating battles. - Dung beetles seem to know what is worthwhile. - They were considered lucky charms in ancient Egypt. 

I will devote myself to the blog and Torgit Instagram again. 

But don't worry, we don't need pity. 😎

To link you to the video Flight Of The Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov would be one view of the medal. - I prefer another...